


One Normal Night

by Froggy1988



Series: Cassarian Advent Calendar 2020 [19]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:16:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28174530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Froggy1988/pseuds/Froggy1988
Summary: It’s not easy being the Son of legends like Cassandra and Varian, or the daughter of Queen Rapunzel and King Eugene. All Flynn and Willow want is one normal night, one normal night together that is. But, some faces from the past interfere with their plans.
Relationships: Cassandra/Varian (Disney: Tangled), Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel, OC/OC
Series: Cassarian Advent Calendar 2020 [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2035303
Comments: 6
Kudos: 18





	One Normal Night

**Author's Note:**

> So… I have decided that although Cassandra and Varian play a side role it’s still has a place in the advent calendar because they are a couple in it, however the main spot goes to their son – so a bit weird yeah. To fill you in, Willow is Eugene and Rapunzel’s daughter, the youngest of four children. Flynn is the son and only child of Varian and Cassandra. If any of you are wondering how on earth he came to be called Flynn well, that’s another story (that can be found here – https://archiveofourown.org/works/25726279/chapters/63898207 )  
>  I’ve never really done a ‘Kid’ or ‘Second generation fic’ like this before but this advent calendar has been all about exploring Cassarian in many different ways and I think as parents on the side-line of their teenagers adventure is one way of doing that. The original idea came from a suggestion from PrincessKitty, though I’m pretty sure this isn’t what she had in mind because I have a very unruly brain.

They had nothing in common, Flynn was interested in fighting and science, Willow liked baking and painting. Flynn was calm and clear headed; Willow could be quick tempered and sensitive. Flynn had grown up in a small cottage outside the city walls, Willow had grown up inside the castle. The only thing they had in common was their age, fifteen. Yet all empirical evidence pointed to one thing, Flynn was in love with Willow. Their parents had been best friends for over twenty years, and they had known each other since birth, but lately he had been noticing little details about her that made his chest feel funny and his mind go to places he didn’t care to admit to. He noticed her wide smile, the way the sun glinted off her blonde hair, the way she laughed too loudly and too long at peoples jokes, the little furrow of her brow when she concentrated on something. He loved every little detail about her.

And tonight, tonight he was going to tell her how he felt.

***

Willow had first realised that she would marry Flynn when he had dyed the twins blue for making fun of her. It had taken a month for them to return to the normal colour, and for that entire month their parents had banded her and Flynn from playing with each other as they ‘encouraged’ each other. They had been five, well Flynn six, the twins had been ten. It was alright that Flynn hadn’t asked her on a date yet, at the end of the day, boys took longer to see what was right in front of their faces than girls. She was starting to get frustrated though, especially since last year she had stood all day at the day of hearts dance waiting for him to show up, dancing politely with all the other boys. He’d never turned up, and he had told her he was going to be there. They’d never discussed what had happened, she’d just given him the silent treatment for a week to show her displeasure. If he had only danced with her then he would have realised he was in love with her. But tonight, tonight their parents were taking them up to the family cabin to watch a meteor storm. And for once, none of her annoying brothers were going to be there. She was sure that even with her parents and Uncle Varian and Aunt Cass she’d still manage to get some time alone with him.

***

“Mum, Dad, about tonight…” Flynn said as he watched his parent packing for their night away, his mother inspecting the blade of a dagger and his father pouring purple gel into one of his alchemy bombs.

“You’re coming.” Cassandra said without looking up.

“That’s not what I was going to say. I just wanted to say..” Flynn sighed. “You’re not going to embarrass me are you?”  
  


“Embarrass you.” His mother answered with a laugh in her voice. “What would we do to embarrass you?”  
  


Both his parents were staring at him now and he felt himself growing nervous, he didn’t want them to know that he had plans that night, but he couldn’t let them be… well, them.

“Well… like at the Christmas party when you got in a fight with Uncle Eugene.”  
  


“We were just playing.” His mother said dismissively.

“Most people your age aren’t meant to play fight Mum, especially not with swords, in the middle of a party full of dignitaries.”  


“What do you mean my age?”

“Don’t answer that.” Varian said with a warning glance. “Besides your Dad was there to put out the fire.” He said with a grin.

“Uh, actually Dad I think that foam that filled the hall and forced everybody to leave was a bigger problem than the fire.”  
  


“But it did put it out.”  
  


“Just, could we have one normal night?”  
  


“Normal, what do you mean?” His Dad asked. Flynn sighed.

“She knows us.” His Mum said not looking up from her blade.  
  


“What?” Flynn said confused. “Who?”

“Willow.”  
  


“What’s Willow got to do with this?” Flynn said nervously.

“You’re not good at hiding things, and when you’re near Willow you get the same look on your face that your Dad used to give me when he was your age.”  
  


“Ewww… I mean, no.. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”  
  


“Wait! You and Willow? Yes!” Flynn’s Dad said excitedly. “What’s the plan?”  
  


“What plan?”

“The plan to get the girl.”  
  


“I don’t have a plan Dad!” Flynn said, his voice breaking as he shouted.

“Then we’re going to need a plan.”  
  


“This, this right here, it comes under the not normal banner. All I want, is just to get twenty minutes alone with her tonight. There’s always so many people around, how are you ever meant to tell a person how you feel if everybody is always watching you?” Flynn said with a sigh.

“So you admit it.” His mother said holding the dagger up and watching it glint. “You do like her.”

Flynn took a shaky breath.

“It’s not like it matters.” He muttered. “She probably just sees me as a friend.”  


Cassandra gave a noncommittal little hum.

“I’m not so sure.” She said distractedly.

“Maybe now, but it’s important to play a long game. Do you know how long it took me to get you’re Mum?” His Dad said, his face doing that soft staring thing it did when he looked at Flynn’s mother, the one that made him get the distinct impression it was time to leave the room.   
  


“Thirteen years.” Flynn said in unison with his Dad. “I’ve heard it before.”  
  


“Yep, he wore me down.” His mother said.

“Hey!” Varian complained. “You love me.”  
  


“I do.”  
  


“I’m charming, and funny and clever.”  
  


“Don’t push it.”  
  


“This, this is not normal.” Flynn complained, stalking up the stairs and slamming his bedroom door.

***  
  


Willow shyly pushed her parents’ bedroom door open. She’d tried knocking but there had been no response. Stan had assured her that they were in their though.

She gave a cough as she saw them stood together looking out of the window, her father’s head bent into her mother’s neck, his hands on her hips. Willow let out a little cough, she wished she could say that this wasn’t the first time she had caught her parents in an embrace, but they were embarrassingly affectionate in public all the time.

Her father turned to her.

“Hey Willow. What’s up Honeymouse?”  


“Stop calling me that, it’s embarrassing.”  
  


“Ah! Come on Willow, your Dad has been calling you that since the day you were born.” Rapunzel reminded her.

“Because you’re so small and sweet, and your hair is the colour of honey.” Willow said copying her mother’s way of saying it. “I know. Can I talk to you about tonight?”  


“Hmm, of course.” Her mother said sitting down on the bed and patting the covers. Willow went and sat next to her. “Did you change your mind about coming? Because you can stay with the twins if you like.”  
  


“No, that’s not what I was going to say. I want to see the meteors. It’s just, Flynn is going to be there, and I just hope you won’t embarrass me.”  
  


“Ha!” Her father said from where he stood watching. “Embarrass… you? What on earth could we do to embarrass you?”  
  


“Last week, when he was over for dinner, you spent an hour telling Flynn about hair care products.”  
  


“Well, he wanted to get that distinctive Rider shine.”  
  


“No, he asked you to pass the salt.”  


“And salt has an important part to play in my hair care routine. Nuance.”  
  


“Mum…” Willow whined.

“Eugene, I think we should listen to her. If we have embarrassed her in front of her friend then we should at least acknowledge her feelings.”  
  


“I do acknowledge them. I just disagree with them.”  
  


“So you won’t embarrass me mum?”  
  


“Me?” Her mother said startled. “I don’t embarrass you.”  
  


“Well…”  
  


“When did I embarrass you?”  
  


“No painting people, like literally, painting them.”  
  


“That was one time, and I could feel the colours of their auras.”   


Her father gave a small cough and smirked, the light glinting in his eyes.

“No suggesting that we all mediate for a moment.” Willow pushed.   
  


“Watching the meteors will be like a kind of meditation anyways, it will make us mindful of our place in this large universe.”  
  


“No saying stuff like that?”  
  


“Wait, why are you bringing this up all of a sudden?” Her Dad asked.

Willow felt her face start to burn.

“What do you mean?”  
  


“I mean, if we are so embarrassing, why wait till now to bring it up?”  
  


“No reason.”  


“Oh, there’s a reason.” Her mother said leaning in.

“I just.. I just don’t want to be embarrassed in front of Uncle Varian and Auntie Cass, they’re cool. You know, all that fighting and inventions.” Her face grew even hotter as she thought about who else she knew that could fight and invent things.

“Okay, first of all, Cass and Varian, way more embarrassing than us. “Her father replied. “Secondly, they’ve known us for over twenty years, they know what we’re like, our behaviours that are so offensive to you aren’t offensive to them.”

“Just…” Willow said jumping up and throwing her hands in the air. “No Kissing okay! It’s disgusting!”  


“Well I am glad you think so!” Her father said with a smirk. “You are way too young to find kissing anything other than disgusting.”  
  


“I’m fifteen Dad!”  
  


“Eugene, she is growing up.” Rapunzel said gently.

“Just be normal for one night. Is that too much to ask!” Willow said storming out of the door, being sure to give it an extra hard slam as she did so. Stan and Pete avoided looking at her as she made her way across the hall to her own room.   
  


Her hair was like liquid honey, glowing and shining in the firelight. She looked up, and caught his eye, and Flynn knew he should look away because it was weird how much he stared at her, but he was lost in the greenness of those eyes. She smiled at him, and he felt a familiar stirring in his stomach that forced him to look away.

“Hotdog?”

“Hua?” Flynn was snapped out of his reverie and looked up into the eyes of Eugene. He felt his cheeks start to grow hot, he knew Eugene couldn’t see into his mind, knew he was not aware of the thoughts that he had about his daughter, but he couldn’t control his blush.

“Thank you.” Flynn said taking the offered hotdog.

He looked around the campfire, his mother and auntie Rapunzel were sitting close to each other, their heads bent together as they laughed at something. His father was frying the sausages in a frying pan over the fire. They used to live for these moments when they were children, the days when they could come up here to the cabin on the side of the mountain. For Flynn and Willow, and her brothers the cabin was a magical place where they were not under anybody’s gaze, and instead of Princes and Princesses could just be children, and their parents, no longer the court of Queen, and guards, and alchemists, could just be parents. It was in those days that Flynn had always felt most connected with his friends, that freedom of running around the forest, without the pressures of society on them.

His eyes drifted back to Willow. He’d always just assumed that she was his, they had been born in the same year, he during the last snow, and she during the last warm days. They had both spent their days in the same castle nursery, as her brothers started classes, and Flynn’s parents worked. There had never been a time when Willow had not been in his life. Other people probably saw them as unlikely friends, or perhaps because their parents were so close thought they had a relationship perhaps like cousins, but to Flynn, it had always been something a little different. Somewhere inside of him, even in his early years he had known that he was meant to be by her side.

Last year, something had shaken that belief though, he’d gone to the day of hearts dance, and hanging back from the crowd he had seen her dancing, in her light green dress that matched her eyes, with the shocking red sash around the middle, representing that little bit of fire within her, and her hair, always too long, always left down and unbraided, flying around wildly as she twirled and dipped, and rested her hands on another boys shoulders. For the first time a different possibility entered Flynn’s mind, one where he was not by Willow’s side, but instead watched her grow more and more beautiful every day as she made that mysterious transition that she was in the middle of, from girl to woman. Days when he watched as she danced at balls with Princes, refined, dignified, men who could offer her more than a little cottage in Old Corona. Flynn would become a guard, and help his father in the labs – that was his future, but what if other suitors came along? Ones that would be kings in the future? That day had been hard for Flynn. He’d wanted to dance with the girl that had always been his, only to realise that he had no real claim over the young woman she was becoming.

“Flynn.” His father was calling him, and he looked up. “Once you kids have finished eating why don’t you go up to the ridge with the telescope and see if you can spot any of the meteorites? I’m afraid the light from the fire might be ruining our view, you can go scout for us.”  
  


“Do you think it’s safe?” Eugene asked.

“They know to stay away from the edge.” Varian answered.

“Besides.” Cassandra cut in. “We have Wings.”

There was a hoot from above them and they all looked up to see the dark shape of Cassandra’s trained eagle owl circling above them.

“Oh let the kids have some freedom Eugene.” Rapunzel said with a smile. “They’re not going to be far from the cabin, and Flynn is capable of handling himself, right Flynn?”  


“Hey!” Willow complained. “I can handle myself too.”  
  


“I have my sword and my alchemy belt Auntie.” Flynn answered.  
  


“See, they’ll be fine.” Rapunzel said. She rummaged through her bag and handed over her blue telescope.

Flynn swallowed the last of his hotdog before jumping forwards to retrieve the telescope. This was it, time alone with Willow, all or nothing, time to lie his cards on the table.

“If you’re not back in half an hour I’m coming looking for you.” Eugene said pointing with a scowl at Flynn. Flynn was about to answer ‘yes, Sir’ when he felt small warm fingers wrapping around his. His words got lost in his throat as he glanced down at Willow.

“Ignore him!” Willow said and then he was being tugged along beside her as she skipped towards the path that led up the hill.

“Flynn! Lantern.” His Dad shouted at him.

“Oh right.” Flynn said as he tugged Willow back for a moment to pick up the lantern by his father’s feet. As he straightened he caught the secretive little smile his father was giving him.

“Thanks Dad.” He said quietly, as he allowed himself to be pulled away again.

***

“How long have they been gone?” Eugene asked looking around nervously.

“Just have your hot wine.” Cassandra suggested. “The kids need some time alone together.”  
  


“Why?” Eugene said, stopping mid-pace and turning to look at her.

“Just to be kids.” Rapunzel said. “Calm down Eugene, she’s fifteen.”  
  
“Just fifteen, she’s still a baby.”  
  


“You weren’t like this with any of the boys.” Rapunzel said.

“The boys take after their grandfathers, they’re huge, have you seen Willow? She’s tiny, she’s always been tiny.”  
  


“Tiny dousn’t mean delicate.” Rapunzel reminded him. “She’s got the same frame I had at that age and If you remember correctly, I was far from delicate.”  
  


“You were three years older and half a foot taller when I first met you.”  
  


“Flynn would never let anything happen to Willow.” Varian interrupted. “You know how protective he is of her; how protective he’s always been of her.”

“I know.” Eugene said taking a deep breath. “She’s like a little sister to him. Wait! What was that look?”  
  


“She’s not a little sister to him Eugene.” Cassandra pointed out. “They’re the same age.”

“Flynn wanted to find some time alone to speak with Willow tonight.” Varian explained calmly.

“Alone? Speak alone? What could he possibly have to say that he couldn’t say in front of all of us?

There was a sudden gasp from Rapunzel as she put her hand to her mouth.

“Really?” She said, her eyes wide as she jumped up and down on the bench.

“What? What’s going on?” Eugene said.

“Oh, she’s been waiting for this.” Rapunzel squealed.  
  


“Really?” Varian asked, his voice going slightly high pitched, he gave a slight cough and corrected himself. “I mean, really?” He said in a deep voice.

“Oh, she’s not said anything because you know, I’m her Mum, but it’s obvious.”  
  


“What’s obvious?” Eugene shouted. “What’s going on?”  


“Calm down Eugene.” Cassandra said calmly sipping her mug of wine. “Flynn has a crush on Willow, and it seems like Willow might return his affections.”  
  


“WHAT! AND WE LET THEM GO OFF TOGHETER? Oh no, no, no, this is not happening. No way is that hooligan boy of yours going to get his greasy paws on my daughter.”  
  


“Hooligan?” Varian said loudly stepping forwards and pointing his finger in Eugene’s face . “That’s not what you called him last week when he took the entire Saturday to help you build the guards new training ground.”  
  


Cassandra had stood up silently as Varian was shouting at his friend and had slowly pulled her sword from it sheaf. Eugene and Varian both jumped away with their hands up as the bade suddenly glinted before them.

“What did you call my son?” She growled at Eugene.  
  


“Well, she’s my daughter! She’s my youngest, she’s precious.”

“And he’s my only child. He’s precious to me!” Cassandra snarled.

***

She hadn’t dropped his hand. Flynn kept staring down at it as they climbed the sharp incline to the ridge. It would be easier for them both to climb up if she let go, but she didn’t, perhaps she had forgotten that she was holding it.

“This seems like a good spot.” Willow said as they reached a small grass clearing at the top of the cliff, finally letting go of his hand, as she dropped down on to the soft cool grass.

“Yeah.” Flynn said nervously as he sat next to her.

They sat for a moment in silence, Willows face tilted up to the sky, her skin glowing in the lanternlight. She was just almost too beautiful to look at, and yet too beautiful to look away from. He took a deep breath. They had something here, trust and friendship. To ask for more was a risk, but they weren’t children anymore, with every passing year their differences had pulled them a little bit further apart, if he didn’t do something now – take the risk, then they’d never have the chance. He looked at where her fingers were splayed on the grass and reached down to take her hand once again in his. She looked up, her eyes wide, lips slightly open.

“Willow… I…” He took a deep breath, he’d rehearsed this, but he couldn’t seem to get the words out.

“I’m glad we get a moment alone.” She said.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I mean… it’s good when it’s just us. Isn’t it? OH!” Her eyes flickered away from him. Looking upwards again. “Pass me the telescope, I think I saw one.”

Flynn grabbed the telescope from the bag and passed it over to Willow. She looked up at the sky, her face intense then she gasped.

“Oh it’s beautiful.” She leaned into him, the side of her body resting against his, so close to him he could feel the curves of her body, and the tickle of her breath on his neck when she turned to him.

“Here, look.” She said holding the telescope up for him. He glanced through it and saw the spots of light dashing across the night’s sky.

“Wow, there’s dozens of them!”

“It’s like they’re dancing for us. It’s so romantic.”

Flynn looked down at her, her face so close to her, he thought he could see the reflection of the falling stars in her eyes.

“It is. Willow, I’m glad I’m here with you.”

They were so close, all he needed to do was move that little bit closer. His finger touched her chin, tilting her head just that little bit further up. He stared into her wide green eyes, tilted his head just that little bit closer, their lips grazed, and he pulled back just an inch to see if she would pull away from him. She wasn’t, she was going to let him kiss her. Stealing himself he leaned in again, but as he did, she moved too, and Flynn was shocked by a sudden pain in his nose.

“OWW!”  
“OWW!”

Flynn winced for a whole different reason as he looked down at Willow her hand held over her own nose.

“Are you okay?” He said with a sharp intake of breath, reaching for her hand. She took it away.

“Yeah, is it bleeding?”  
  


“No. You’re fine, Willow, I’m so sorry.”  
  


“It’s okay.. we could..”

“Well lookie here!” They both jumped at the gruff voice from behind them. Flynn got to his feet, grabbing the lantern, and holding it aloft. It took a moment to see the two large figures coming out of the woods. Flynn’s hand went to the alchemy belt that he wore around his waist. His father had devised various ‘bombs’ for getting out of difficult situations. Flynn and his mother had trained using them. It was the two skills sets of his mother and father combined that had made the Corona guard the most technically advanced in the known world, and Flynn had been trained in both alchemy and fighting as a reflection of that. Still, though he preferred to avoid trouble if possible.

The figures stepped into the light and Flynn heard Willow gasp from where she had stood up behind him. The two figures, twins Flynn assumed, were tall and wide and had hair that was red splattered with grey. One wore an eyepatch; the other’s face was covered in scars and he had thick distinctive sideburns. They looked menacing, and Flynn started to develop a bad feeling that however much he wanted to avoid trouble, trouble was going to come.

“Hello.” He said cautiously. “Were we in your spot? Sorry, just leaving.” He said reaching behind him for Willow’s hand.

“I don’t think so.” One of twins said, side stepping so that he and his brother formed a living barrier blocking the pathway back into the woods. Flynn’s eyes narrowed as he saw the silent brother pull out a wicked looking curved knife.

“Uh… Flynn.” Willow gasped.

Flynn stepped in front of her, his arms out. He remembered his training, he steadied himself, taking in his surroundings with quick glances, as his hand reasted on his sword hilt.

“Well lookie here, that looks like an expensive bit of equipment.” One of the men sneered.

Flynn looked down at the telescope still held in his other hand he knew it was one of Rapunzel’s prized possessions, but he also knew that he had to protect Willow.

“Take it.” He said holding it out. “We don’t want any trouble.”

The man with an eye patch stepped forwards.

“Flynn.” Willow whispered behind him. “I think I know who these guys are… Dad he…”  
  


“Did you just say Flynn?” The man with the sideburns interrupted looking between them. “Hey brother, would you look at these two, dousn’t that girl look familiar to you? All that golden hair. I think we’ll take a miss on the telescope; I think we got ourselves a couple of royals.”  
  


“They’re the Stabbington brothers.” Willow said.

Flynn glanced behind him; he’d heard the stories. He had thought they had been deported, but he guessed not far enough away.

“Ahh! Isn’t that sweet, she’s heard of us. Did your Daddy tell you all about us Flynn Junior?”

It suddenly twigged in Flynn’s mind. The twins didn’t know who he was, they thought he was a Prince, Willow’s brother. This was useful.

“That’s right!” Flynn said. “He told me all about you. I am the heir to the throne of Corona, and I demand that you give yourselves up immediately.” He whispered under his breath hoping that Willow would hear him. “Just run.”

“I won’t leave you.” She whispered back, her hand gripping his shoulder tightly.

“We don’t follow your orders.” The brothers sneered at him, their hulking forms moving towards him. He kept his sword pointed steadily at them, crouched himself down a bit lower.

“Just let the girl go. I’m what you really want, a Prince is worth far more than a Princess. We’ll just marry her off to whoever gives us the best trade deal. I’m the future King.”

“Oh, I think we’ll be able to take you both. Twice the royals, twice the ransom price.” The man with the sideburns reached down into his satchel and pulled out a length of rope. Flynn took a deep breath as he pulled his sword from its scabbard. He heard a hoot from above him as he pushed Willow backward, and ran forwards, keeping himself low.

***

“Come on now Cass. Put the sword away.” Rapunzel said laying her hand on her friend’s arm.

Cassandra was about to answer when she heard a hoot above her and she glanced up startled, her eyes widening.

“Wings!” Cassandra shouted shocked as the owl landed next to the firepit, tilting it’s head from side to side and hooting in a sharp sequence.

“What is it?” Eugene said wearily, as he watched the bird take off again.

“He was keeping an eye on the children.” Varian explained quickly as Cassandra started running to follow the owl.

“Willow.” Rapunzel gasped.

They were all quick to follow the path that Cassandra made through the forest, occasionally looking up to see the owl circling ahead, leading the way. They were silent as they ran, too panicked to say anything, this was their children. The most precious things in their lives. They heard Cassandra’s startled shout as she made her way out into a clearing. Rapunzel caught Eugene’s eye; he could see the worry in her face.

They arrived in the clearing to see Cassandra wrapping her arms around her son. Willow stood to the side, looking pale but unharmed, but the thing that stopped them short was the two struggling hulking forms that were tied up on the ground near Flynn and Cassandra’s feet. Two very familiar forms, with red hair.

“Willow.” Rapunzel cried running to her daughter.

“Is he alright?” Varian shouted at Cassandra running over.

“I’m fine Dad.” Flynn said.

“Willow?” Eugene asked.

“I’m fine too.” Willow said from where she was hugging her mother.

Eugene gave a slight nod and made his way over to the two men.

“Sideburns, patchy! Long time no see. Can’t say it’s the best reunion ever though.” He looked back towards his daughter.

“What happened?”  
  


“We were just sat here when they came out of the forest. They recognised who we were, they said they were going to kidnap us for ransom.”  
  


Eugene grimaced and he bent down, pulling Sideburn’s forwards by his shirt collar till he was inches from his face.

“You never! Never! Threaten my child! Do you hear me!” He growled at them.

The two men nodded silently as Eugene let go of them. He stood up and went to wrap his arms around his daughter, taking a moment to check that she was in fact unharmed. Then with a final glance up at his wife he turned to where Cassandra and Varian were hugging their son.

“Cass, is there anyway of us sending a message to the Corona Guards at the foot of the mountain using that Owl of yours?”

“On it.” Cassandra said, placing a gentle kiss to her son’s forehead before turning towards where the owl watched them from the trees.

Eugene walked over to his namesake, noticing for the first time that the boy, the baby he had first seen when only minutes old, was nearly his own hight. He held himself well as well Eugene noted.

Eugene held his hand out to Flynn, who looked at it shocked for a moment before taking it.

“Thank you for protecting my daughter.”

“Hey! Willow shouted. “I took the one with eyepatch, I kicked him between the legs and he fell over.”  
  


“ That’s true. She does a pretty good job at protecting herself.” Flynn said. “But, anytime.”

“The guards should be here within the hour.” Cassandra said re-joining them. “I guess we just keep an eye on the dumbass brothers and wait.”  
  


***

They’d all decided to cancel the night in the cottage in the end. The guards had arrested the Stabbington brothers and were marching them in front of Flynn, Willow and they’re families. Flynn walked at the back with his parents. He kept his eyes on the ground as they started the two-hour trek back to the safety of Corona. His Dad kept glancing at him, and finally he cleared his throat and stepped close to Flynn.

“So, you won the battle but didn’t get the girl hey?” His father asked him with a sad sympathetic smile.

“I didn’t even get the chance. Dad, I just wanted one normal night.”

“Flynn, this is normal for us. We’re always going to be who we are.”

Flynn stared at the ground whilst he walked, he didn’t want to talk about it. He felt as if his only chance had disappeared.

“Hey.” He felt his father’s hand on his shoulder. “At least nothing bad happened, and I bet you were pretty impressive right? Taking on those two big guys.”

“You did a good job.” His mother said from the other side of him. “I’m proud of you Flynn.”

Flynn gave a small smile in response. He knew they were trying to help him see the positive side, but the whole night had been a complete disaster. He looked up to say something along those lines to his parents, but he caught them looking ahead, following their eyes he saw that Eugene was looking over his shoulder at them. There was a slight nod between Eugene and his father, and within a few seconds his mother had hung back on the trail and his father had run ahead. Flynn watched confused as the two men whispered something to each other. He felt something strange was going on when Eugene hung back from the group and fell into step next to Flynn.

“So…” He said. “Did you get to finish your conversation, with Willow?”  
  


“Uh no.” Flynn said startled. “Those two jokers showed up before I got a chance to…. Wait, what do you know?”

“Enough.” Eugene said placing his hand on Flynn’s shoulder. “And I’ve decided that I’m going to allow this.”  
  


“Nobody was asking for your permission Fitzherbert!” Cassandra said, bumping into him as she walked past.

“At least let me pretend I still have some control over the situation!” Eugene shouted back. Then he gave Flynn a look that he couldn’t quite read.

“Hey, Willow.” Eugene shouted. “Hang back for a minute.”

Willow stopped walking, and Eugene and Flynn caught up with her.

“What is it?” She asked looking confused.

“You two need to talk.” He said, resting one hand on Willow’s shoulder, and one on Flynn’s. “Catch up with us in a few minutes, okay?”  
  


“Okay.” Flynn squeaked.

They stood next to each other watching as their parents walked down the track, each one of them at some point turning back to look at them. Flynn waited till they were out of hearing range and took a deep breath.

“I uh… I had this whole speech but then the Stabbington’s turned up and…”  
  
“You had a speech.” Willow said, grinning at him as she rested a hand on a hip. “Tell me your speech.”  


“It’s uh.. kinda embarrassing now.” Flynn said brushing his hand through his hair awkwardly.   
  


“I want to hear it.”  
  


“It was something along the lines of you’re beautiful..” Flynn muttered; his voice rushed. “And I think I’ve been in love with you forever.”

He glanced up nervously, waiting to see what she would do, hoping that at least, she wouldn’t laugh at him He didn’t think she would, she was usually kind at least.

“I don’t feel the same way.”

“Oh…”

“I’ve only been in love with you since we were five, when you turned the twins blue for bullying me. Funny, I thought you were the one being slow to realize, but I guess it was me.. I mean, taking a whole five years, when you’d known forever.”

She stopped talking as he took her face in his hands and looked at her seriously. He swallowed nervously, staring at her pale pink lips. For once she was silent and still and didn’t have some kind of silly comment or quick come back, he closed the space between them, and kissed her. It felt like firelight and cool grass and meteor showers and dancing when nobody is watching. As he pulled away Flynn knew he had a goofy grin on his face, but he didn’t care, because Willow had a goofy grin on her face too, and it was adorable. She looked down and took his hand.

“Come on.” She said. “Let’s go and catch up with the others. Tonight’s been exciting in ways I didn’t expect.”  
  


“Yep, I’m glad our mini adventure is over though.”  
  


“Oh Flynn.” Willow said with a laugh. “The adventures only just beginning.”  
  



End file.
